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The problem of how our government calculates price inflation affects more than just Social Security benefits. The consumer price index is also used to adjust many federal programs and other aspects of our laws such as the federal poverty limits and the federal tax code. By growing more slowly, fewer people qualify for safety net programs, or the federal tax code exemptions become less generous over time, and taxpayers pay more in taxes..The difference in drug prices between the two programs is due to two reasons. Under Medicare Part D, the government isn't negotiating drug costs on behalf of beneficiaries, and Part D has no cap on out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs. The lack of a cap acts as a perverse incentive for drug makers and drug plans to get beneficiaries to use the most expensive drugs, because Medicare reimburses drug plans 80% of the cost in the final catastrophic phase of coverage. The higher the cost of the drug, the more drug plans receive from Medicare. Medicare patients who rely on such medications could owe thousands of dollars out-of-pocket every year for a single drug, even when their Part D plan covers the drug..The new drug's availability expands the choices that patients and physicians have for treating the chronic, metabolic illness diabetes. The new product potentially reduces the cost of treatment for patients as they navigate different options..Joyce Heap was in end stage Alzheimer's disease, and living at a nursing home run by an Armenian couple, when her daughter Denise spotted suspicious charges on forms from her mother's Medicare drug plan. Denise Heap went online to find out what the drugs were, and she discovered her mother was supposedly receiving medications for conditions she didn't have, like breast cancer, asthma, and emphysema. Heap was convinced that someone used her mother's identity to bill Medicare for more than ,000 worth of medications in just three months..If signed into law, the Social Security Fairness Act would amend title II of the Social Security Act to repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision..With regard to your specific concerns on Social Security COLAs, as you are fully aware, after a person becomes entitled to receive Social Security benefits, his or her monthly benefit was designed to increase annually to maintain purchasing power over time. The amount of the COLA is based on inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. If the CPI rises, Social Security benefits for the next year increase proportionately. If the CPI falls, Social Security benefits stay the same. Like you, I too have long been critical of this formula that measures the level of inflation in our economy because older Americans have different needs than the "typical" American. In addition, the current CPI fails to adequately reflect the fact that seniors rely more on medical goods and services, which have a much higher inflation rate..Medicare and other health insurance premiums, including Medigap supplements, Part D or Medicare Advantage plans, and long term care insurance, as long as an employer did not pay the premiums..Sudden price spikes in older drugs are putting patients at risk of going without vital medicine. A new report by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging uncovered an insidious business model that's leading to monopoly pricing power and astronomical price increases..The reconciliation bill is one of the most complex tax and spending bills ever contemplated, with virtually no area of the budget or tax code left untouched. The Democrats want it to contain measures that are extremely important to seniors, including dental, hearing and vision benefits being covered by Medicare. They are hoping to craft it in such a way as to only need 51 votes for passage.